The fit of a garment is frequently controlled by the use of a drawstring. Similarly, a container may use a drawstring as a closure device. A drawstring typically is of sufficient length to extend through and be contained in a drawstring channel formed in the garment or container along a marginal edge of an adjustable opening. Opposite ends of the drawstring extend beyond opposite ends of the drawstring channel for adjustment by the user.
The tip ends of a drawstring are often unfinished and subject to fraying. Conversely, it is common that opposite end portions of a drawstring be enclosed in short cylindrical plastic sleeves to prevent fraying of the tip ends and to facilitate handling particularly during insertion of the drawstring into a drawstring channel.
In many garments and containers, the entry and exit ends of the drawstring channel include eyelets forming rigid annular openings sized to pass the drawstring and its tip ends. The eyelets function to reduce damage to the garment or container adjacent the ends of the drawstring channel caused by longitudinal movement of the drawstring within the channel.
In the past, "pusher" devices have been used to insert drawstrings into drawstring channels. Such pusher devices require an end portion of a drawstring to be folded over a leading end of the pusher while the pusher device forces the drawstring through an end opening of the drawstring channel, then through the channel and out an opposite end opening of the channel. In some applications, a cap is placed over the leading end of the pusher and the fold of the drawstring. The cap provides additional retention of the drawstring to the pusher during the insertion through the drawstring channel and helps reduce the likelihood of damage to the channel material during the passage of the leading end through the channel. The cap also increases the size of the leading end of the pusher. Such increased size of the folded drawstring and the pusher, with or without the retainer cap, may either prevent the pusher from being used with eyelets and drawstring channels sized to the drawstring, or may require that the entry and exit eyelets and the channel be considerably larger than the drawstring to permit the use of the pusher. Any increase in the size of the drawstring channel and eyelets requires additional material to be used in the garment or container, and thereby increases the bulk and cost of the garment or container.
In the home, it may be desirable to remove a drawstring from a garment for washing to prevent the drawstring from being lost in the washer or causing damage by entanglement in the washer mechanism. After washing, the drawstring is reinserted in the drawstring channel. As a drawstring wears, it may be desired to replace the worn drawstring. Also, for fashion purposes, it may be desired to replace a drawstring with a drawstring of a different color or pattern. Replacing and reinserting a drawstring to meet these conditions is frequently accomplished by the use of a "safety pin" attached to an end of the drawstring and manually guided and pushed through the eyelets and the drawstring channel. This method is slow and laborious and involves the risk of injury if the pin opens unobserved within the channel, exposing the sharp end of the pin to injurious contact with the user. Certainly, such a method of drawstring replacement is not convenient when the garment is being worn.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages and provides a convenient to use and inexpensive "puller" for manually replacing and reinserting a drawstring into and through a drawstring channel. With the puller of the present invention, a drawstring may be quickly and easily removed and replaced even when the garment is being worn. Further, with the puller of the present invention, eyelets and drawstring channel sizes may be tailored to the drawstring instead of the drawstring insertion device without increasing the cost or likelihood of damage to the associated garment or container.